Copenhagen is the largest city and capital of Denmark. The city's history dates back to at least the 11th century, and it's known for its many museums, gardens, the Little Mermaid Statue, and the University of Copenhagen, one of Europe's best universities. Located on the eastern coast of Zealand to the east of Odense, Copenhagen has an urban population estimated at 1.26 million in 2015.
When the larger metropolitan area is considered, Copenhagen has a population of 1.99 million. The city proper has just 583,000 residents with a population density of 6,800 people per square kilometer (18,000/square mile). This is close to 10% of the country's total population. This population density is about 45x denser than Denmark on average.
The precise population of Copenhagen is hard to define as Statistics Denmark does not specify the geographical area it uses to describe "urban Copenhagen." Still, it typically consists of Copenhagen Municipality, Frederiksberg, and 16 of 20 municipalities in the old Roskilde and Copenhagen counties. Since the Øresund Bridge was completed in 2000, commuting to and from Copenhagen and Scania, Sweden has grown tremendously. This has led to a much larger integrated area called the Øresund Region. The Region has 3.8 million people, 2.5 million of whom are in Denmark.
City Size and Population Density
The city proper claims an area of 178.46 square kilometers, while the urban area covers 606.5 square kilometers, and the metro area expands over 1,767.52 square kilometers. The population density for the city proper is quite high, with approximately 4,400 residents living per square kilometer. However, this thins out a bit as the entire metro region is considered, bringing the number to 1,200 per square kilometer.
Copenhagen Demographics
Just over 73% of the people of Copenhagen are of Danish origin. There are also 41,000 immigrants and 4,600 people descended from Western nations (8%), and 56,000 immigrants and 27,000 descendants of non-Western nations (15%). Following Denmark, the most common country of birth is Pakistan, followed by Turkey, Iraq, Poland, Germany, Morocco, Sweden, Somalia, Norway, Lebanon, Iran, the U.K., Yugoslavia, the U.S., China, Italy, and India.
Most Københavners belong to the Lutheran Church of Denmark with almost 62% confirming membership by paying church taxes. This is lower than the Danish national average of 79%. The second-largest Christian community in Copenhagen is Roman Catholic. There are believed to be about 150,000 Muslims in the city, most of whom live in Nørrebro and the Vestegnen. Most of the 7,000 Jews in the country live in the city.
Copenhagen consistently ranks very high in terms of quality of life. While it is one of the most expensive cities on earth, it's also considered one of the most livable with eco-friendly policies, open spaces, city planning that favors pedestrians and cyclists over drivers, and an emphasis on culture and community.
Copenhagen Population Growth
Copenhagen's population is expected to continue its gradual growth, increasing from 583,000 in the city proper in 2015 to 715,000 in 2030 and 755,000 in 2040.